


Time to Myself with You

by JewishDavidJacobs



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Massage, Probably a little bit OOC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:48:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24425287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JewishDavidJacobs/pseuds/JewishDavidJacobs
Summary: It’s been a long, hard day for Davey and all Jack wants to do is take care of his fella.
Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly
Comments: 7
Kudos: 89





	Time to Myself with You

**Author's Note:**

> Just a plot bunny that I wrote while procrastinating finishing chapter five of Across Enemy Lines. I hope you enjoy.

“I’m tired.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

“I shouldn’t complain; you have it worse than I do.”

“Nah, I don’t sell  _ and  _ go to school.”

“Yeah, well, sitting in school isn’t as tiring as selling papes. It’s just that I’m constantly going. Sorry, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful.”

“You don’t. You know it’s okay to talk about this, right? I know you think I’ve got it harder than you but it ain’t a competition so talk to me. That’s what I’m here for.”

Davey and Jack sat on the rooftop of the Jacobs’ tenement building on a cool autumn night. Davey had his head on Jack’s shoulder. He was bone-weary from a seemingly endless day of school and selling. He had just finished his homework and Jack wished he could have more time with him. It was getting late though, and he knew that soon enough he would have to get back to the lodging house and Davey would have to go to bed. 

“Thanks,” Davey said, smiling. “It’s just that I get up super early to get Les ready for school, and then-”

“Your parents don’t do that?”

“Sarah and I don’t let them; they’ve got enough to do. So I do that and then we walk him to school, and then I walk Sarah to school, and then  _ I  _ go to school. By the time I actually get out of class I have to practically run to go home and change out of my uniform before I pick up Les so we can get to the distribution center on time for the evening edition. Then we get home and I help my mother make dinner-”

“Sarah don’t do that?” Jack asked. Davey glared.

“Katherine would punch you if she heard you say that, you know that, right?”

“Sorry! I ain’t trying to be ignorant or nothing.”

“I know, Jacky. Anyway, we make dinner and there’s never really enough so Ima gets all upset with herself and then she’s so tired after dinner that she has to go right to bed so I help Sarah with the rest of the washing and sewing so customers don’t get angry. By the time we’re done my hands are so waterlogged and numb that I can hardly hold a pen and I still have to do my schoolwork. By the time I get to sleep I have to be up in less than five hours and then I do it all again the next day.” He sighed. “Sorry. Now I’m just rambling.”

“I like your rambling,” Jack assured him. “Look, I know the boys give you crap about being all proper and having both your folks around but they’re just being idiots - you know some of them do too. They know you work hard and that not everything in your life is perfect so you don’t have to hide anything from us, okay?”

“I’m hiding it from Les, not from you guys.”

“Les?” That was concerning to Jack.

“Yeah. Sarah and I agreed a long time ago that we’d do whatever we could to make him feel safe.”

“He wouldn’t feel safe if he thought you were stressed?” 

“He’s not even ten, Jack. He still thinks that older means smarter and that adults know everything - he thinks  _ I  _ know everything.”

“You sorta do.”

Davey rolled his eyes. 

“Thanks. He’s constantly asking me and Sarah things that we either don’t know the answer to or don’t want him to know. He knows we work because we need money but he doesn’t know how little of it we have.” Jack wrapped an arm around Davey’s shoulders and stroked from his shoulder to elbow and back up again. 

“Well, I can’t fix all of that and I’m not gonna try to.”

“I appreciate that.”

“But I can probably help with a couple of things, Dave.”

“You have enough to worry about on your own.”

“The boys are my priority.  _ You’re  _ my priority.” He blushed and let Jack continue. “Why don’t you bring a change of clothes with you to school?” 

“And what, change in an alleyway?”

“Come to the lodging house. It’s closer to Les’ school than your place is anyway, right? So you can just pick it up again on your way home.”

“Yeah, but you know how I feel about-”

“You can change in my room,” he offered.

Davey pulled away and looked at him incredulously. 

“Your _ room _ ?”

“Perks of being the leader. There’s this little room attached to the main one on the third floor that used to be for the guy in charge, then Kloppman came along and made the office in the back of the first floor his room. He gives it to whoever’s in charge and that’s me.” 

“Are you kidding me? And you sleep on the roof every night?” 

“What? It’s warm out! I don’t sleep out there in the winter!” 

“You’re telling me that when I stayed over and was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes we could have stayed inside?” 

“Sorry,” Jack said, smiling impishly and not looking very sorry. “Next time?” 

“Yeah, well, we’ll see if there even is a next time, Kelly.” He crossed his arms and settled back into Jack’s side. “All right. So I can change in your room?”

“Of course.”

“And the boys won’t mock my uniform?”

“Well, that’s asking a lot,” he teased. “I can’t promise that.” 

“Ugh. Okay. Well, thanks, Jacky. That’ll save me some time. 

“Sure. I’m sorry I can’t do much more than that.”

“That’s all right. I’m really thankful that you’d even do that for me.”

“Course. Here, come sit in front me.” He opened up his legs and Davey did what he was told but not without a curious expression.

“Why?”

“Because you’re tense as shit.” He laid his hands on Davey’s shoulders, made him lie back on his chest a little, and began rubbing. Davey groaned almost immediately.

“Jacky…you don’t have to do this.”

“Does it feel good?” he asked. Davey nodded. “Then I want to. Christ, I was right; you’re so tense, doll. When was the last time you had some time to yourself to relax?”

Davey scoffed. 

“Are you kidding me? Never. Besides, you’re one to talk. You’re always working or doing stuff for the other kids.”

“At least once a week I go to Medda’s and paint for a few hours. I wouldn’t be able to function if I didn’t have that time. Sometimes Crutchie comes and we can just spend time together like real brothers.”

“You  _ are  _ real brothers.”

Jack smiled and pressed a kiss to the back of Davey’s neck.

“Take your shirt off.”

“Why?”

“It’ll be easier and it’ll feel nicer.”

“It’s not going to look great if someone comes up here,” he said but he was already unbuttoning the shirt.

“The only one who comes up here is Sarah.”

“That’s true, I guess.”

Davey folded the shirt and put it down on top of his school book. Jack continued what he was saying beforehand. 

“Sometimes one of the others comes with me to the theater. Either way, it’s my chance to relax. You’re welcome too, by the way, I just know you’re busy so I haven’t asked.”

“Yeah, I’d love to at some point but I just don’t have time right now. Which, by the way, is the point I’m trying to make. I’m so happy that you have that, Jacky, but it’s just not a reality for me. There’s always something to do.”

“Aren’t you supposed to rest on Saturday?”

“Sorta but that’s more of a structured rest?” He laughed at his own explanation. “I mean it isn’t time to read or sleep or whatever. Besides, most weeks we have work to do Saturday anyway.”

“I’m sorry, doll.”

“It’s not your fault. Shit, Jacky.”

“Feel good?” he asked.

“Mmm.” 

Jack found a particularly tight knot and Davey hissed uncomfortably as he worked it out. 

“Sorry. I promise it’ll feel much better once I get through it.” 

“How do you know how to do this?”

“My ma.” Jack rarely spoke about his parents and when he did it was only to Crutchie or Davey. “She used to come home from the factory all sore so I taught myself to do this.” 

Davey was silent for a minute.

“Where did you first see it?” he eventually asked. 

“My father used to do it for her before he…anyway, that’s where I learned it.”

“Okay. Thanks for telling me that, Jacky.”

“Course.” He tried to move on quickly by asking, “still hurt?” Luckily, Davey took the hint and nodded. 

“Yeah, a bit.”

“Sorry. It’s a real tough one. Have your shoulders been bothering you?”

“Name one newsie who isn’t sore all over all the time.”

“I’m not asking about the other newsies, I’m asking about you. You’re sore all over all the time?”

“Kinda. You’re not?”

“Not like this, doll. Guess I gotta make it my job to get you to relax more.”

“I might have to take you up on that.”

Jack felt the knot finally come undone and Davey moaned happily. 

“There we go. How does that feel?”

“Amazing, Jacky,” he replied earnestly, his Polish accent emerging a little as he loosened up and relaxed. Nothing made Jack feel closer to Davey than the fact that he was comfortable letting his accent slip around him sometimes. It was usually when he was about to fall asleep or he was just waking up but occasionally, if he was extra tired that day, it came out. 

“Good. You’ve got a bunch of those; you up for me doing ‘em? It’s probably gonna be uncomfortable again.”

“I don’t care,” he said. “It’s more than worth it if it leads to feeling like this.” 

Jack chuckled and continued.

“All right.”

“Would you teach me how to do this at some point? Maybe I could do it for Ima or Sarah.”

“Sure, but can you focus on yourself for ten minutes, Dave? God, it’s like you're determined to be stressed,” he teased (although he was only half kidding). 

“Okay. Sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

“Mmm. That’s really nice.”

“Glad to hear it.” He found another tight knot and got to work on loosening it up. Davey whimpered a few times but whenever he did Jack just kissed his neck again. “Relax, baby. Try to untense your shoulders.”

“Sorry. It’s hard for me to-”

“I know,” he said softly, “but I’ve got you and there isn’t anything you need to be worrying about right now.”

“I know that in theory but I can’t get my brain to shut up and leave me alone.” 

“That’s because it’s so smart and got so many thoughts in it,” he teased and made Davey scoff. He kissed the back of his hair. “You really gotta find a way to get out of your own head.”

“You sound like Sarah.”

“Good. She’s not a bad person to sound like and she usually knows what she’s talking about.”

Davey hissed as Jack dug his thumb into a knot. He tried to loosen it as best he could while causing minimal discomfort to him.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it just hurts.”

“Want me to stop?”

“Please don't. I mean, if you want to stop you can. I get it if your hands are tired and obviously you don’t have to do anything that-”

“Stop. I already told you I wanted to. I’m begging you to try and stop worrying, baby.”

“It doesn’t work like that,” Davey said and his voice sounded like it might break.

“Woah, hey, it’s okay. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I know it’s hard for you and I’m not upset or nothing.”

“I know.” Davey nodded. “I’m sorry, I’m just exhausted and I get emotional when I’m exhausted. I’m…I’m really grateful for you doing this.”

“Is that why you’re crying, baby?” He saw Davey nod.

“It’s nice to have someone taking care of me. Not that my family doesn’t but-”

“It’s different.”

“Right.”

“Well, you deserve to be taken care of. You take care of me and our friends all the time and I know you never stop taking care of your family.”

“It feels wrong though.”

“Why?”

“Because Sarah doesn’t have somebody to take care of her like you take care of me.”

“Maybe not romantically, doll, but you take care of her.”

“She takes care of me too though and-”

“Dave.” 

“Right, sorry.” 

Jack chuckled. 

“You’re okay. If it makes you feel better, I’m sure if Sarah was interested in romance she would have someone but she isn’t right now, yeah?”

“Yeah.” He stayed quiet for a minute and Jack got the knot to come undone. He moaned. “Jacky…”

“That’s it, baby, just relax,” he whispered. Davey nodded languidly. 

“I feel like I’m melting.”

“Yeah, that’ll happen. It’s nice, right?”

“Really nice. If I had known you could do this I would have been making you follow me around all the time with your hands on my shoulders.” 

Jack laughed. 

“I’m not sure your teachers would love that but I’d be willing.”

“Mmm.” 

“Just a few more, I think, doll. If you can find yourself some free time, you should sleep over one night and I can do this to your back and legs and feet too.”

“Thank you. You’re so good to me, Jacky.”

“You deserve it.” 

It only took about ten more minutes for Jack to get the biggest knots out of Davey’s shoulders and then he just kneaded them. It was nice to see Davey relaxed for once. Normally, he was stress personified and to see him this way was a real treat. After a few minutes, he leaned all the way back onto Jack’s chest. This made it a little more difficult to massage him but it also allowed Jack to see the soft, blissful smile on Davey’s face.

When it looked like Davey was about to fall asleep, Jack briefly went up and down his arms, kneading a little bit but mostly just caressing. Davey’s eyes remained shut the whole time. He finished the massage by wrapping his arms around Davey’s front and pressing his lips to the back of his hair. 

“Are you going to fall asleep on me, gorgeous?” he asked in a whisper. 

“No, I’m just resting.” He shifted so that his head laid on Jack’s shoulder. 

“Relaxed?”

Davey nodded and said, “I think that’s the word of the night. We’ve said it so many times and it’s the only feeling I can even comprehend right now.”

“Good.”

“I should probably let you go. I know you need your sleep and-”

“Shhh. I’d rather stay here with you for a while. I’ve got plenty of time. Sleep, if you want, and I’ll wake you up in a little while.”

“I don’t want to sleep. Can you talk to me?”

“About what?”

“Anything; I just like hearing your voice.” 

So Jack smiled and told him all about Medda’s newest act and the backdrop he was creating for it. He thought Davey had fallen asleep a few minutes later but Jack made a joke and he chuckled. 

Seeing him like that made Jack unimaginably happy. Now that he knew it was an option, he would do anything to see him that way on a regular basis. He was glad Davey liked the massage because he would be getting a lot more of them from now on.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think! My tumblr is @JewishDavidJacobs. Feel free to come say hi and/or leave me a prompt!


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